Alabama quarterback Bryce Young said it was a process turning the page after losing to Georgia in the national championship game, but he’s asked himself in the weeks and months leading up to spring practice, “What can I do to grow?”
Young won the Heisman Trophy and went 13-2 in his first season as the starter.
All told, he threw for 4,872 yards, 47 touchdowns and seven interceptions as a sophomore. He also ran for three scores.
Still, Young said he felt he could have done a better job of having control of the offense, coordinating the run game pre-snap and doing a better job post-snap of diagnosing where to go with the football.
“[I’m] trying to do a better job of communicating with all my guys and making sure that we’re on the same page whenever I’m changing something or there’s something that may not be as clear,” he said. “And then, of course, now it’s a lot about trying to build chemistry, timing with guys around me and making sure that we’re all on the same page. And there’s a lot of stuff I want to improve on just, you know, the regular stuff of accuracy and all that.
“There’s a really long list for me. I feel like there’s a lot of stuff once I’ve gone back and I’ve looked at the games. I feel like there’s a lot of stuff that I can do better and I want to improve on.”
Young talked about building chemistry multiple times during a news conference Monday. Part of being at a place like Alabama, he said, is dealing with change.
The Crimson Tide lost both star receivers from last season, Jameson Williams and John Metchie. Starting running back Brian Robinson Jr. is also gone, along with left tackle Evan Neal.
Alabama dipped into the transfer portal and came away with former All-ACC running back Jahmyr Gibbs and former Georgia leading receiver Jermaine Burton.
But it was the return of offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien that Young said was “huge for me.”
O’Brien was rumored to be in the running for college and NFL head-coaching jobs this offseason and instead returned for his second season in Tuscaloosa.
Young said their first season together involved a lot of figuring one another out.
“I feel like now we’re always on the same page and, you know, for us to kind of continue that and push that relationship forward is super exciting for me,” he said. “So I’m super happy that I get another year with O.B., that he’ll be back and I’m excited for the growth of this offense as a whole.”